A driver involved in a crash that killed two people early Friday on the southbound 405 Freeway in Hawthorne was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol officers identified him as Marvin Arriola, 30, of Gardena, who reportedly suffered moderate injuries in the accident just north of Rosecrans Avenue.

The crash occurred about 2:45 a.m. when the 2008 Toyota that Arriola was driving "at a high rate of speed" in the far right lane hit the back of a big rig traveling at 55 mph in the same lane, the CHP said.

The Toyota became disabled and was struck by another big rig, traveling at 55 mph. CHP Sgt. David Nelms said the second big rig then overturned, blocking the nearby Rosecrans off-ramp.

Nelms said the crash killed a man and woman in Arriola's Toyota. They died at the scene while the driver was transported to a hospital with moderate injuries. The driver of the overturned big rig suffered a shoulder and arm injury, he added.

The deceased woman was in her 30s, and the man in his 20s, according to county coroner's officials. Their names were not released Friday.

"We are going to investigate this fully," Nelms said. "We're still connecting all the dots."

State Department of Motor Vehicles records show Arriola has a valid license. He failed, however, to appear in court on a Jan. 7 ticket for driving more than 65 mph, California's maximum speed limit on any highway.

Following the crash, the right two lanes of the 405 Freeway and the Rosecrans Avenue off-ramp were blocked for hours as CHP officers from South Los Angeles investigated the incident just outside their office's boundaries, Nelms said.

At the time, the agency's West Los Angeles Office, which would normally handle such an investigation, had been dealing with another fatal accident that occurred about 1:15 a.m. on the westbound side of the 10 Freeway near Centinela Avenue in Santa Monica.

One person was killed in the head-on collision caused by a wrong-way driver. A CHP officer said a male suspect was arrested before 3 a.m. The charges he could face were not immediately disclosed.Staff writer Larry Altman and City News Service contributed to this article.